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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. firm — decided
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. mate — a partner
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to click
  11. march — the month
  12. row — to paddle
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. mate — a friend
  16. pit — in a race
  17. mate — to breed
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. firm — steady
  20. pitch — completely
  21. firm — a company
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. row — a line
  24. pitch — a sports field

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com